Embodiments of the inventive subject matter generally relate to the field of wireless devices, and, more particularly, to wireless networking-enabled personal identification devices.
Perhaps the most common authentication technique used in the digital world is the combination of a username and a password. A username identifies the user, while the password is, at least optimally, known only to that user. The system assumes, based on the knowledge of the password, that the user is who they claim to be. Other forms of authentication are also used, such as biometric authentication, in which unique physical aspects of a user are used to confirm the user's identity, or communicating with a radio frequency (RF) chip embedded in a keycard. Furthermore, various authentication techniques can be combined to create multi-factor authentication.
Wireless communications permit wireless authentication methods, such as communications using the aforementioned embedded RF chip. RF chips and circuits are also present in some identification tags for toll roads and credit cards, among others. Other technology, such as the near field communication (NFC) standards allow communication and authentication between electronic devices. The number of available authentication techniques and technologies highlights the challenges associated with determining whether a person is who they claim to be in a digital world.